The Mahabharata provides many back stories, many of which appear in Part A of the reading. It's really interesting to see how different characters turn out to be a God/Goddess later on.
Bhishma
It's really interesting to see how Bhishma readily agrees to not ascend to the throne and to never have kids that could potentially be successors of the kingdom, especially for a family he did not know. He did it all for his father, which shows a great deal of loyalty. However, if I were to rewrite this part, I would maybe tell it from Bhishma's point of view as he rules the kingdom himself. Things would have probably gone a very different path in this case.
Ambika and Ambalika
I thought it was amusing that since Ambika closes her eyes when Vyasa sleeps with her, their son is born blind, and when Ambalika turns pale when Vyasa sleeps with her, their son is born very, very pale. If I were to rewrite this part of the Mahabharata, I would possibly tie in a "deaf, dumb, and blind" sort of theme, where one son was born deaf, one was born without the ability to speak, and one was blind. Maybe all three sons would get along perfectly, or maybe they would have their own people rooting for them to ascend to the throne.
The Pandavas
There is a Bollywood movie called "Karan Arjun," where the two are brothers who live a simple life with their caring mother. They are killed by a villain in an attempt to save their mother from him, and are reborn into the world. When they become older, they feel a connection but have no recollection of their previous lives. It's a really interesting movie with lots of fighting, and when I read about Arjuna in the Mahabharata, that movie is all I could think about. I could possibly write up a back-story for Arjuna and tie in the movie plot. Also, Karna was a son of Kunthi that not many people knew about until after he died. Karan and Arjun in the movie also fight against one another initially due to some conflicts, but later remember their previous lives. Karna's name even looks like Karan's (with only two letters switched), so I could maybe have Karna and Arjuna find out their true identities in my retell.
Draupadi
I couldn't figure out if Draupadi getting five husbands was a blessing or a curse. In her previous life, she had wanted one husband with five different personalities, so why was five husbands such a curse to her? Maybe I could go more in depth into her previous life and why exactly she wanted her husband to act like five different people, or maybe I could write a story in which there was a competition between the five Pandava brothers to win Draupadi as their wife.
Bibliography: Narayan's Mahabharata, Part A.
Bhishma
It's really interesting to see how Bhishma readily agrees to not ascend to the throne and to never have kids that could potentially be successors of the kingdom, especially for a family he did not know. He did it all for his father, which shows a great deal of loyalty. However, if I were to rewrite this part, I would maybe tell it from Bhishma's point of view as he rules the kingdom himself. Things would have probably gone a very different path in this case.
Ambika and Ambalika
I thought it was amusing that since Ambika closes her eyes when Vyasa sleeps with her, their son is born blind, and when Ambalika turns pale when Vyasa sleeps with her, their son is born very, very pale. If I were to rewrite this part of the Mahabharata, I would possibly tie in a "deaf, dumb, and blind" sort of theme, where one son was born deaf, one was born without the ability to speak, and one was blind. Maybe all three sons would get along perfectly, or maybe they would have their own people rooting for them to ascend to the throne.
The Pandavas
There is a Bollywood movie called "Karan Arjun," where the two are brothers who live a simple life with their caring mother. They are killed by a villain in an attempt to save their mother from him, and are reborn into the world. When they become older, they feel a connection but have no recollection of their previous lives. It's a really interesting movie with lots of fighting, and when I read about Arjuna in the Mahabharata, that movie is all I could think about. I could possibly write up a back-story for Arjuna and tie in the movie plot. Also, Karna was a son of Kunthi that not many people knew about until after he died. Karan and Arjun in the movie also fight against one another initially due to some conflicts, but later remember their previous lives. Karna's name even looks like Karan's (with only two letters switched), so I could maybe have Karna and Arjuna find out their true identities in my retell.
Draupadi
I couldn't figure out if Draupadi getting five husbands was a blessing or a curse. In her previous life, she had wanted one husband with five different personalities, so why was five husbands such a curse to her? Maybe I could go more in depth into her previous life and why exactly she wanted her husband to act like five different people, or maybe I could write a story in which there was a competition between the five Pandava brothers to win Draupadi as their wife.
Bibliography: Narayan's Mahabharata, Part A.
Source: The five Pandava brothers, with their wife Draupadi in the middle.
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